Disabled Veterans and Their Families Falling Through the Cracks

With our country currently engaged in two frontline wars and aiding in military operations in Libya, there is no doubt that brave servicemen and women will continue to be severely injured in the line of duty. In spite of programs like Fort Hood's "Warrior Transition" unit, wounded veterans and their families are, unfortunately, still struggling to find the medical care they need and the community support they deserve. Much like other government agencies, the Veterans Administration and individual military branches are bogged down in red tape, making even relatively simple requests for medical care expenses or much-needed therapeutic equipment often go unheeded without extraordinary efforts on the part of caregivers.

Now more than ever, individual military branches - especially the Army, since the majority of ground troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are enlisted soldiers, not sailors or Marines - are not bearing the brunt of day-to-day care for wounded service members once they are released from the hospital. That responsibility is falling not to the bureaucrats, but instead to the families of disabled veterans. For many families, their beloved soldiers are so severely hurt (in many cases they have been given a 100 percent permanent disability rating by the Veterans Administration or Social Security Administration), that their worlds are turned upside down. Most spouses now find themselves playing the roles of mom, dad, teacher, taxi driver, caregiver and house manager, in addition to having to work outside of the home in order to make ends meet.

Help Is Out There

One military spouse's exceeding frustration at the Army's unwillingness to help her when her husband was disabled after an improvised explosive device (IED) maimed him in Iraq led her to start a nonprofit organization - Operation Life Transformed - to help other families who might be in the same position she was. Nationally renowned, not-for-profit healthcare provider Inova Health Systems has instituted the "Military to Medicine" program that lets military spouses train for careers in the medical field. This not only gives them real-world skills that can translate into a position in the health care industry, but it can help them be a better caretaker to their wounded loved ones.

Other private organizations - everything from the Christian Military Wives helpline to a network of Adopt-A-Soldier programs across the country - are doing their best to help support both the servicemen and women themselves and their families in times of need.